Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-destructive method for the analysis of materials. It is generally non-invasive and does not involve ionizing radiation. In very general terms, nuclear magnetic moments are excited at specific spin precession frequencies which are proportional to the local magnetic field. The radio-frequency signals resulting from the precession of these spins are received using receiver coils. By manipulating the magnetic fields, an array of signals is provided representing different regions of the volume. These are combined to produce a volumetric image of the nuclear spin density of the body.
Magnetic resonance (MR) is an accurate, noninvasive tool for assessment of diffuse hepatic deposition disease, namely hepatic steatosis and iron overload. A variety of MR-based techniques are available for detection and characterization of hepatic deposition disease, including dual echo technique, multi-echo acquisition, and breathhold single voxel or volumetric spectroscopy. The primary advantages of these techniques over percutaneous liver biopsy, the reference standard for deposition disease, include evaluation of a much larger volume of tissue, lower cost, and lack of periprocedural complications associated with biopsy.
MR-based techniques for evaluation of hepatic deposition disease ultimately rely on manual selection of a region of interest (ROI) or volume of interest (VOI) for analysis of a particular portion of the hepatic parenchyma, prior to or following data acquisition. It would be beneficial to provide techniques for automating one or more of the processes related to magnetic resonance imaging and diagnosis. More particularly, it would be beneficial to provide techniques for automating processes related to magnetic resonance imaging of liver and diagnosis of liver conditions.